Lord Maclean; Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II
Lord Maclean, the former chief official of Queen Elizabeth II’s household and organizer of the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles, has died, his family announced Friday.
Maclean was 73 when he died Thursday at Hampton Court Palace, a former royal residence in London, where he had been chief steward since 1985. The announcement gave no cause of death.
The Scottish baron became lord chamberlain in 1971. Before he retired in 1984, he had established a reputation as a perfectionist in royal ceremonies while overseeing the queen’s household.
The wedding of Prince Charles, the queen’s eldest son, and Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul’s Cathedral was a highlight of his term.
Maclean’s first ceremonial assignment as lord chamberlain was the 1972 funeral of the Duke of Windsor, who as King Edward VIII had abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Royalty watchers noted with approval that Maclean did not bow when he said farewell to the duke’s widow as she left.
Maclean also organized the silver wedding celebration of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, that year.
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